If you’ve been involved in high school sports long enough, you’ve come to accept that there are a lot of different personalities that drive this situation forward.
Within that array are different ways of thinking and approaches to achieving success.
Also, human tendency is to repeat some concepts that may be useful in multiple locations or instances.
This creates a problem that will never go away in our high school sports world. Obviously, this is a joke to some extent, so don’t take what follows here too seriously.
But that “problem” is a cliché.
Everyone has heard of it. The phrase sounds as if it were being read by a choir from a songbook.
Some are proven and have special meaning in certain programs because of their staying power. Some items may have passed their expiry date before they were introduced.
Again, we’re just having fun. Please keep that in mind.
However, there are a few clichés that tend to catch my attention.
1% improvement every day
This has happened in the last five years or so.
Through repetition and action, your ideas will improve and you will aim for higher goals.
This is a great idea, and it would be great if student-athletes and programs could get one step closer to that dream.
I don’t mean to be a contrarian or an overthinker, but there’s something about improving by 1% every day that I don’t really understand.
If you’re trying to improve by 1% every day for an entire season, aren’t you starting at a low bar by definition?
Have you ever had a bad practice or game, shot more than 1% worse, and theoretically need to get that percentage back next time?
What happens if you have a series of training days and matches and actually improve by 1%? For example, if you start with a base of 80% and improve by 1% every day for 20 days, by the time you reach victory points, , you’ve improved as much as you expected. Wouldn’t it get better?
What metrics are used to determine 1% better? Couldn’t it be 2% better in a day? Maybe 1.4% better? Is it less than 1%?
It’s great to have goals to improve as an individual or program. But giving it a metric might be a bit of a stretch.
we are a close-knit group
Not to be too contrarian, but it’s kind of funny how teams often claim to be so cohesive. That’s not the basis of the idea, but the high frequency of it.
If it were true that all high school sports teams were as close-knit as they claim, the world would be a wonderful, harmonious place.
That means, by definition, all the student-athletes on that team get along. There are no issues, either in competition or away from competition, that can hinder your pursuit of success.
But is that true in all cases? Of course not.
It’s a good thing for many teams that fall into this category due to years of hard work, friendships, and trust built up. It’s the pinnacle we can reach to stay together, regardless of the outcome. If that bond is very strong, it can last all the way through high school and form the basis of lifelong friendships.
The problem is, it’s no secret that there are teams at every level of the sport who say things like this, and it’s not true.
There are issues that can affect a team, such as not passing the ball, not talking to the quiet freshman at the end of the bench, arguments, losses, disagreements and disillusionment with the coach. Not to mention the problems of being a teenager, but now that we’ve dealt with it, we can all understand, regardless of age.
A simple story to illustrate the point. As usual, no identity is invoked. Once upon a time, there was a talented softball team. They exited the postseason early, but the timing was shocking. No one could understand how this skilled and experienced team could fall so far short of their goals.
After the season, the coach was asked what happened. It all boiled down to the fact that one boy was dating a student-athlete on the team, the two broke up, and the boy started dating one of her teammates. Sure, sometimes that’s just high school life.
Like I said, this is 99.9% a joke.
But seriously, if you dare to tell anyone who will listen that your team is “close-knit,” make sure you’re building that bond from the beginning. And make sure it’s as solid as it is true when verbalized.
Tradition never graduates
This is also something we have to strive for every year to ensure accuracy.
If you’ve wavered from the principles of that concept through 17 coaching changes and a group of student-athletes who can’t name the predecessors who laid the foundation for that tradition, then it’s technically no longer your tradition. .
The time will come when the torch will be passed. When this happens, nothing is more important than ensuring as much as possible that the proverbial torch is passed into the hands of capable and stable managers.
Also, running locally 20 years ago is not a tradition. It’s a track record of continued success and a legacy built over time.
So, as people inevitably move forward in life over time and by circumstance, those who end the deal will ensure that those who inherit the deal communicate why it matters and why it is necessary. Please do so. Then you’ll be ready to write your own chapter.
Once again, this is mostly said in jest.
Through different personalities, different concepts emerge, some of which are meaningful to share and use as one’s own.
Just do it wisely.